Theological Thursday: Forgiveness & Atonement
Recently, a small group of women got together for a regular bible study in my home, a topical study, and the topic on hand was forgiveness and the sacrificial system. Since I’m very familiar with this topic, I knew it was best to start with DEFINITIONS. So many time we study the Bible and we kind of don’t know what we are even talking about. When you begin with the basics, language, words, meanings and context, then move into interpretations and translations, this is where a study becomes a STUDY.
The following verses were the key verses we looked at that had all the words.
“ In Him we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of His grace” (Ephesian 1:7)
“The LORD, the LORD God, is compassionate and gracious, slow to anger, abounding in loving devotion and faithfulness, 7maintaining loving devotion to a thousand generations, forgiving iniquity, transgression, and sin. Yet He will by no means leave the guilty unpunished*; He will visit the iniquity of the fathers on their children and grandchildren to the third and fourth generations.” Exodus 34:6-7 (Numbers 14:18)
*Jeremiah 30:11, Jeremiah 46:28, Nahum1
“23for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, 24and are justified freely by His grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus. 25God presented Him as an atoning sacrifice in His blood through faith, in order to demonstrate His righteousness, because in His forbearance He had passed over the sins committed beforehand. 26He did this to demonstrate His righteousness at the present time, so as to be just and to justify the one who has faith in Jesus.” (Romans 3:23)
Let’s look at the Definitions of words we saw in the above verses.
REDEMPTION
G: apolutrosis H: peduth/ ge’ullah
Release effective by payment of ransom, deliverance, freeing slave or prisoner, buy back
(OT: 1st born, kinsman)
BLOOD
G: haima H: dam
Life, purification, holy, required for forgiveness
FORGIVNESS
G: aphesis H: nasah
Send away, release, remission, let go, pardon, legal/financial term to cancel debt and release prisoner
TRESPASSES/ TRANSGRESSION
G: parabasis/ anomia H: pesha
Overstepping, trespass boundaries, rebellion to law and order/ without law or bounds
INIQUITY
G: adikia/ anomia H: avon
Unjust, Unrighteousness / without law or bounds
SIN / SINNED
G: hamartia H: chatta’ah
Err, Miss the mar, off, wrong aim and trajectory, fail
GUILTY
G: hamartia H: asham
To be guilty, committing offense; destroy, make desolate
ATONING SACRIFICE/ PROPITIATION/ PASSED OVER
G: hilastérion H: kapporeth
Sin offering, mercy seat, offering to appease the wrath of a diety, cover, clean
JUST/ JUSTIFIER/ JUSTIFIED
G: dikaios H: tsadaq
Righteous, to be or be declared right, legal term where defendant is declared free of guilt or blame, acquitted, free of charges
RIGHTEOUSNESS
G: dikiaosuné H:tsedeq / tsedaqah
Deemed right by the Lord, approval by God, just, ethical and moral integrity,
Questions to ask ourselves?
If we take the time to ask good questions, we’ll find that the scriptures rewards us a with rich understanding of many things, if not direct answers. The key is to let the scripture speak without placing upon it the answers you think it should say. If you get stumped, ask more questions and look up more verses based on key words. Websites like BibleHub.com should be able to help you find words, verses, themes and ideas quickly and with ease.
What are we guilty of?
Romans 3:23 “for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God”
Psalm 14 “The fool says in his heart, “There is no God.” They are corrupt; their acts are vile. There is no one who does good. 2The LORD looks down from heaven upon the sons of men to see if any understand, if any seek God. 3All have turned away, they have together become corrupt; there is no one who does good, not even one”
James 4:17 “Anyone, then, who knows the right thing to do, yet fails to do it, is guilty of sin.”
What are the charges?
Colossians 2:14 “having canceled the debt ascribed to us in the decrees that stood against us. He took it away, nailing it to the cross!”
James 2:10 “Whoever keeps the whole law but stumbles at just one point is guilty of breaking all of it.”
Charged by who/what?
Romans 3:20 “Therefore no one will be justified in His sight by works of the law. For the law merely brings awareness of sin.”
Job1:6 “One day the sons of God came to present themselves before the LORD, and Satan also came with them.”
Revelation 12:10 “And I heard a loud voice in heaven saying: “Now have come the salvation and the power and the kingdom of our God, and the authority of His Christ. For the accuser of our brothers has been thrown down—he who accuses them day and night before our God.”
In debt to who?
Luke 11:21-22 21”When a strong man, fully armed, guards his house, his possessions are secure. 22But when someone stronger attacks and overpowers him, he takes away the armor in which the man trusted, and then he divides up his plunder.”
Galatians 3:23 “Before this faith came, we were held in custody under the law, locked up until faith should be revealed.”
What is the debt owed?
Romand 6:23a “For the wages of sin is death…”
Imprisoned/Enslaved by who? Where?
Titus 3:3 “For at one time we too were foolish, disobedient, misled, and enslaved to all sorts of desires and pleasures—living in malice and envy, being hated and hating one another.”
Galatians 4:3,8-9,24 “So also, when we were children, we were enslaved under the basic principles of the world…Formerly, when you did not know God, you were slaves to those who by nature are not gods. 9But now that you know God, or rather are known by God, how is it that you are turning back to those weak and worthless principles? Do you wish to be enslaved by them all over again?…These things serve as illustrations, for the women represent two covenants. One covenant is from Mount Sinai and bears children into slavery: This is Hagar.”
Romans 6:6, 22 “We know that our old self was crucified with Him so that the body of sin might be rendered powerless, that we should no longer be slaves to sin…But now that you have been set free from sin and have become slaves to God, the fruit you reap leads to holiness, and the outcome is eternal life.”
Bought back by who? At what price?
1 Corinthians 6:20a “you were bought at a price.”
1 Corinthians 7:23 “You were bought at a price; do not become slaves of men.”
Galatians 3:13 “Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law by becoming a curse for us. For it is written: “Cursed is everyone who is hung on a tree.”
1 Timothy 2:5-6 “For there is one God, and there is one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus, 6who gave Himself as a ransom for all—the testimony that was given at just the right time.”
1 Peter 1:18-19 “For you know that it was not with perishable things such as silver or gold that you were redeemed from the empty way of life you inherited from your forefathers, 19but with the precious blood of Christ, a lamb without blemish or spot.”
Hebrews 9:15 “Therefore Christ is the mediator of a new covenant, so that those who are called may receive the promised eternal inheritance, now that He has died to redeem them from the transgressions committed under the first covenant.”
Released/Pardoned to who? where?
Rom 6:18, 22 “You have been set free from sin and have become slaves to righteousness…For when you were slaves to sin, you were free of obligation to righteousness.”
Titus 2:14 “He gave Himself for us to redeem us from all lawlessness and to purify for Himself a people for His own possession, zealous for good deeds”